{"id":80124,"date":"2024-07-15T00:28:57","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T04:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=80124"},"modified":"2024-07-15T00:29:18","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T04:29:18","slug":"payton-tolle-red-sox-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/15\/payton-tolle-red-sox-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Sox Draft Lefty Two-Way Athlete in Second Round"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After snagging Texas A&amp;M outfielder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=montgo002bra&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Braden Montgomery<\/a> in the first round, the Boston Red Sox selected <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=tolle-000pay&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Payton Tolle<\/a>, a two-way player from Texas Christian University, with the 50th pick of the 2024 MLB Draft. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/prospects\/draft\/payton-tolle-801139\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tolle<\/a> is the highest-drafted pitcher that Boston has taken since <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/houckta01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tanner Houck<\/a>, who went in the first round in 2017. The 21-year-old stands at a massive 6\u20196\u201d and weighs 250 pounds.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">With the 50th pick in the 2024 <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MLBDraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#MLBDraft<\/a>, we have selected P <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=tolle-000pay&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Payton Tolle<\/a> from <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TCU_Baseball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@TCU_Baseball<\/a>. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/e0Ufwyam8N\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/e0Ufwyam8N<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Red Sox (@RedSox) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RedSox\/status\/1812677222924239115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 15, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2><b>Red Sox Draft Two-Way Lefty Payton Tolle In Second Round<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tolle leaves college baseball after his junior year. He spent his first two seasons at <a  href=\"https:\/\/goshockers.com\/sports\/baseball\/roster\/payton-tolle\/7456\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wichita State<\/a>, where he dominated as a two-way player. Tolle batted .317 in just over 100 at-bats during his freshman year. He followed that up nicely with a .311 average and 13 home runs in double the plate appearances in his sophomore season. On the mound, Tolle struggled at times. He had an ERA above 4.40 in both of his campaigns with the Shockers. Over those seasons, he threw a total of 152 innings, struck out 146 batters, and had an ERA of 4.56.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>At The Plate<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After showing out for Wichita State, Tolle transferred to <a  href=\"https:\/\/gofrogs.com\/sports\/baseball\/roster\/payton-tolle\/16234\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TCU<\/a> for the 2024 season. He had issues at the plate, never really settling in as a hitter. After recording seven RBI in his first three games, he had just six the rest of the year. He fell out of the Horned Frogs\u2019 regular lineup by mid-March, totaling just 55 at-bats in 2024. Tolle batted .182 with two homers, a large step down from his Wichita State days. However, the same couldn\u2019t be said for his pitching.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>On The Mound<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tolle\u2019s first outing on the mound wasn\u2019t an ideal start &#8211; giving up four runs in just three innings of work. However, he slowly found his footing in his first five starts, and he had a 5.24 ERA entering a contest on March 22 against Oklahoma State. That\u2019s when things finally clicked for the left-hander. Tolle tossed a nine-inning complete game shutout while punching out 15 batters. He allowed just five hits and three walks. It was Tolle\u2019s second consecutive game with double-digit strikeouts. He would extend that to three in his next start.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Here&#8217;s every pitch for all of Payton Tolle&#8217;s 15 strikeouts against Oklahoma State on Friday. Such an impressive outing. <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FrogballUSA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#FrogballUSA<\/a> | <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GoFrogs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#GoFrogs<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zKEXJEpIVX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/zKEXJEpIVX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jamie Plunkett (@FrogPreacher) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FrogPreacher\/status\/1771529832817738054?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 23, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He entered April with a 3.38 ERA and ended the month at 3.16. Tolle did not allow an earned run across three starts from April 19 to May 3. His production dipped in his last two appearances, surrendering seven runs over 12 \u2153 combined innings. But despite losing his consistency at the plate, Tolle found it in a big way on the mound. He exited the 2024 season with a 7-4 record, a 3.21 ERA, and 125 strikeouts in just over 81 innings. Tolle\u2019s dominance on the bump was rewarded with winning the <a  href=\"https:\/\/big12sports.com\/news\/2024\/5\/20\/uts-belyeu-tcus-tolle-highlight-big-12-baseball-awards.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Where Does Payton Tolle Fit Into The Red Sox System?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite hitting and pitching in college, Tolle enters professional baseball profiled as a hurler only. His fastball plays much faster than it is recorded at, with a heater that tops out at around 96 miles per hour. Tolle relies heavily on the pitch, throwing it nearly 75% of the time. He also has a slider and changeup in his arsenal that each sit in the low 80s. Scouts are undecided whether he would best be used as a starting pitcher or a multi-inning reliever. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/14\/2024-mlb-draft-tracker\/\" target=\"_self\">15 pitchers<\/a> were selected ahead of Tolle in the first, compensatory, and second rounds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Payton Tolle has nasty FB\/SL combo.<\/p>\n<p>22\u201d IVB on his FB, which he uses 75% of the time.<\/p>\n<p>7.4\u2019 average extension (1.4\u2019 more than average).<\/p>\n<p>27% in-zone whiff rate on FB (average is 14%).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kikucyu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yusei Kikuchi<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/scottta01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tanner Scott<\/a> comps.<br \/>\n<a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jGaiGEsHLp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/jGaiGEsHLp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 G.G. (@ggeiss_mlb) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ggeiss_mlb\/status\/1812676553249104028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 15, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There were questions asked about <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">whether Boston would go with a <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.masslive.com\/redsox\/2024\/07\/will-red-sox-draft-first-round-pitcher-then-develop-the-hell-out-of-him.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pitcher in the first round<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> before the draft. They were perfectly fair inquiries, especially with the lack of throwing depth in the Red Sox system. Of their top 20 prospects, according to MLB.com, just six of them are pitchers. None rank higher than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=gonzal007wil&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wikelman Gonzalez<\/a> at fifth, who struggled in Double-A this season. Next up is ninth-best prospect <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.fcgi?id=perale000lui&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-15_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luis Perales<\/a>, who is out indefinitely due to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/18\/luis-perales-tommy-john-surgery\/\" target=\"_self\">Tommy John surgery<\/a>. With issues and futures up in the air, taking a pitcher makes complete sense. Boston followed that logic by picking Tolle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Sara Diggins\/American-Statesman \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After snagging Texas A&amp;M outfielder Braden Montgomery in the first round, the Boston Red Sox selected Payton Tolle, a two-way player from Texas Christian University, with the 50th pick of the 2024 MLB Draft. Tolle is the highest-drafted pitcher that Boston has taken since Tanner Houck, who went in the first round in 2017. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5152,"featured_media":80131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,926,1071,35],"tags":[28566,28646,1312],"class_list":["post-80124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-redsox","category-milb","category-mlb","category-news","tag-luis-perales","tag-payton-tolle","tag-tanner-houck"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}